Paint-brush.



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APPLICATION FILED FEB.I5, I9I8.

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HENRY E. J.'WAeKwIrz,` or roer WASHINGTON, NEW

YORK, AssrGNoR or ONE-HALF y TO I-I. R. SMITILOF PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK.

Y `Application filed February 16, 1918.

T0 all whom t may concern.' Y

Be it known that I, HENRY E. J. VVAGK- wirf/L, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Port Washington, L. I., New York State, have invented a new and useful Paint-Brush, of which the following is a specification.

My invention vrelates to paint brushes and A the objects of the invention areto preserve the bristles of thep'aint brush in goed order and particularly to prevent the curling of the bristles. v f

It hasbeen found that when paint brushes are allowed to stand for a certain length of time the bristles assume a permanent curl and this Vrenders the brush unsatisfactory and in some cases actually useless, long before the brush has been worn out.

In my Y invention I have overcome and guarded against this curling tendency of the bristles by providing means `separate from and independent of the bristles for supporting the brush in a standing position. rlhis supplementary, support is preferably `inthe nature of a foot normally housed in the handle at the `base ofthe bristles and adapted to be projected when the brush is to be Veo laid aside, to a position where it will bear upon thesupport and takeV the weight of the brush-*off the bristles.y Conveniently operable means are preferably mounted on r the handle forprojecting and retracting this support at will.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated the -invention` made in several practical forms but at the same time I would have `it understood that' further changes and modification may be made without departure from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

In said drawing Figure 1, is a partial seetionalview of a paint brush having my invention incorporated therein.

Fig. 2 is another sectional view taken at right angles tothe plane of Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 are' broken detail views showing a modified construction of operating device for projecting and retracting the supporting element.

Figs. 5 and 6 are brokendetail views of a combing type of brush support.

The brush illustrated is of typical construction in that it embodies a handle portion 5 and a body of bristles 6 attached thereto. This handle however is of hollow Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 3, 1918i. serial No. 217,722.

construction having a chamber 7 formed in the head portion thereof, at the base of the bristles and a passage S extending therefrom, longitudinally of the handle.

The supplementary support consists in the present disclosure of a foot member 9 carried by a rod or stem 10. The rod slides within the passage 8 in the handle and the foot portion of the support is adapted to be housed when not in use within the chamber 7,` 4This so-called foot portion 9 is shown as a relatively flat plate disposed edgewise of the bristles, extending across the width of the brush and having dependent feet ll for `engagement with the supporting surface, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

Various means may be provided for operating the support. In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown a finger wheel 12 provided for this purpose, the same being pivotally mounted at 13 on one side of the handle adjacent the lower or head portion thereof, said wheel being toothed as indicated to serve as a pinion engaging a correspondingly toothed portion 14 on the adjacent side of the stem of the support. In this form of construction, the hollowhandle is entirely closed except at the point where the rim of the. finger pinion projects through into engagement with the rack on the stem. The finger wheel may be made of small diame-V ter and may be set down in the handle so as to not interfere or be in the way in the ordinary usage of the brush. When through painting withthis construction of brush, the finger wheel is simply operated by the thumb to` projectthe support and the brush is then put away as usual in a bucket of water, oil or the like for keeping the bristles soft and said support, resting as it does upon the bottom of the container, takes the weight of the brush off the bristles so that said bristles can hang straight and free. In addition to preventing the bristles from curling, this method of supporting the bristles also keeps the brush cleaner by allowing the bristles to free themselves of particles of paint, etc. Another advantageous feature of the invention is that in case of caking of the paint in the base portion of the bristles this caking tendency can be overcome by simply projecting and retracting the supporting element so as to break up any clots or hardened substance. 'When the foot portion of the support is made relatively wide it serves also as a scraper for cleaning the bristles. The

support is preferably made oi brass, aluminum, or other' noncorrosive material so as to not bc ai'lected by paint, etc.

Another' form of operating mechanism is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4t wherein there is shown a thumb screw for engagement with the stem of the retractable support which in this case is threaded for engagement by said screw as indicated at 1G. This thumb screw may be seated in a socket 17 provided therefor in the brush handle so as to be out ol the way and at the same time readily accessible for easy operation.

The invention is simple and so inexpensive that it may be readily incorporated in a brush without adding very materially to the cost of the brush andthe possible increase in cost is more than oli-set by the improved condition in which the brush is kept, and by the period ot' usefulness thus added to the brush.

The brush supporting blade may also be caused to serve as a comb for combing the bristles by providing it with comb teeth 18 on the opposite edges thereof as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6. Also the upper edge of the blade may be sharpened somewhat as indicated at 19 so as to properly separate the bristles von the retracting movement. This comb type of support is shown as made up ot a single piece ot sheet metal or fiat blade lfolded to present a relatively sharp upper edge and having somewhat Haring sides toothed or notched to provide the combing function and also provide supporting feet for engagement with the supporting surface.I This lcomb serves to preserve the bristles in proper relation and is very effective in keeping the bristles properly cleaned.

I claim:

1. A paint brush comprising a handle and a body of bristles carried thereby, said handie having a chamber a-t the base of the bristles and a passage extending from said chamber longitudinally of the handle, a brush supporting member adapted to be housed in said chamber and provided With an operating stem extensible into the passage in the handle, and a finger Wheel journaled on the brush handle and engaging the stem oi' the support for retracting or pro jeeting the same.

2. `A paint brush `comprising a hollow handle and a body of bristles carried thereby, 'an operating stem inclosed Within and slidably guided in said holloivdlrandle, a brush supporting member on `the end of said stem and adaptedto be housed Within the hollow handle when the stem is in retracted position, and a manually operable member on ythe handle connected with the stem within the hollow handle for projecting and retracting the stem and thebrush support carried thereby.

3. In comb'natiom a paint brush having a .hollenv handle and a body of bristles carried thereby, a stem slidably :guided in said liollonT handle, a plate carried by the end of said stem and adapted to traverse the inter# mediate portion of the :body 'of bristles as the stem is reoiprocated, supporting feet portions on said plate and means for shitting the stem to thereby project and retract the plate. i

el. In combination with a paint brush, having a hollow handle, a supporting blade normally housed at the base of the bristles and provided with supporting lfeet in the form of comb teeth for engagement With the bristles, said supporting blade having a stem projecting into the hollo'u7 handle o'l' the brush and inclosed therein and means on the handle engaged With saidstem for projecting and retracting Isaid 4comb blade longitudinally of the bristles.

J. WACKWITZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissoner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

